City posts preliminary FY 2024-25 year-end results; general fund to add ~$964,000 to fund balance

Finance Director Summer Fleming presented preliminary year-end financial results for fiscal year 2024-25 at the Nov. 6 council meeting, describing revenue and expenditure outcomes, fund balances and next steps for the audit and annual financial reporting.

Fleming reported general fund revenues of approximately $11.36 million, $313,000 above budget. Primary favorable variances included property tax, sales tax and investment earnings; court fines and fees were below budget by about $85,000. Overall general fund operating expenditures were approximately $10.5 million (including encumbrances), producing projected budget savings of roughly $763,000. After accounting for encumbrances and restricted amounts, Fleming said the general fund is projected to add about $964,000 to fund balance, bringing the total to approximately $8.63 million. Of that total, staff identified operating reserves, restricted (public safety) balances and other designations.

On the utility side, Fleming reported total utility revenues of about $8.3 million (roughly $67,000 above budget) and operating expenditures under budget by approximately $143,000. Capital projects budgeted at $6.1 million spent about $2.4 million during the year; multiyear projects will continue in the new budget year. Fleming noted a new Governmental Accounting Standards Board statement (GASB 101) will change how earned but unpaid sick leave is recorded; for the utility fund (which uses full-accrual accounting) staff estimated a one-time noncash liability of about $73,000 that will reduce reported net position in audited statements but will not affect cash flow.

Fleming outlined next steps: final audit completion in January, a year-end resolution for continuing appropriations, completion of the annual comprehensive financial report, and updates to the five-year financial plan prior to the FY 2026-27 budget process.

Quotes

"General fund revenues finished the fiscal year strong at about $11,360,000, exceeding budget by just over $313,000," Finance Director Summer Fleming said.

What this means

The city ended the year with positive budget variances and increased fund balance. Several savings areas were driven by personnel vacancies and lower-than-anticipated software and professional-service expenditures. The utility fund showed performance consistent with expectations and will reflect an accounting adjustment under GASB 101 in audited statements.